Pure Freedom
by Curly Fry-Summer-Wildfire
Summary: Follow the riveting stories of the teens of the five factions as they journey through a world of secrets, danger, and obscurity. As you read the individual viewpoints of each of the teens and familiarize yourself with their lifestyle, you begin to find out the different treacherous ways that the various plots may twist into.
1. Chapter 1

**This chapter was done by me. Throughout the story each chapter will be done by someone else, explaining their character in the story.**

I woke up with a jerk. Sleep was not coming anymore. I glanced at the clock at my bedside. Two o'clock in the morning. Choosing Day was crowding my brain. _What if I'm not Erudite? I've lived my whole life here… where else would I go? I have to admit though… My brother is smarter than me and he's only thirteen. Maybe I really don't belong in Erudite…_I glance at my clock once more. It's already three. I push the blankets off myself and slide out of bed. My toes grazing the hard cold tiled floor, I shiver slightly. I do a quick stretch and then walk to my door. My door swished open quietly and I tiptoed out. I walked past my brother's room. On his door was his name designed in graphs. _What a nerd… It's still pretty cool though, if only I knew how to do that._ I walk down the metal stairs and arrive in the living room. I sit down on the dark blue puffy couch. It didn't feel right sitting here. I always felt out of place.

"Couldn't sleep?" A voice says behind me. My mom walks out of the shadows, her arms crossed over her chest, her hair up in a ponytail to keep it, somewhat in control.

"No." I say simply, not thinking of anything else to say. She sits down next to me and attempts to put her arm around me. I slink away slightly but let her anyway.

"Choosing Day?" She asks knowingly. She seems awake, like she's always up at this hour. I just shake my head, not really wanting to talk about it.

"I understand…" she continues. "I was in your exact position many years ago."

"You're not originally from Erudite?" We never really talk that much, but when we do I always learn something new about her.

"No. I'm from Abnegation." she starts.

"Why did you switch?" She looks down at me. She was hiding something, I could tell.

"What is it?" I ask, she seemed to be scanning me, which she does all the time. She always finds something you thought you had hidden away.

"You are, aren't you?" Her eyes said it all. I shrink away, hiding in my shell again, like always. I look away and slide to the far side of the couch. I don't look at her or listen to what she says. _How could she figure that out? Why did she switch? Why does she always do this to me?_ Questions were racing through my head giving me a headache. She touches my shoulder bringing me back to reality.

"Listen to me." She begs. I look up to her eyes, she's scanning again. I looked away before she can find anything.

"Are you listening?" She asks quietly. I nod slowly glancing at the clock on the table next to the couch. Four o'clock, it was going to be morning soon.

"I switched because of the same reason you're going to switch. You don't feel like you belong here. Am I right?" She's always right and she knows it, but I nod anyway.

"Do you know what it's called?" She asks slowly.

"No, I just know I'm different." I say softly. She grabbed my hand and I attempted to pull away, but she was strong and pulled me with her. She dragged me upstairs to her room. A door opened behind us as Logan came out of his room. She pushed me inside, closed, and locked the door. I sat on her bed and waited for her to explain herself.

"What's going on?" I ask, watching her close her blinds with a click of a button on her remote. She turned on her lamp next to her bed and sat down next to me.

"You cannot tell your brother what I am about to tell you. He cannot know." She explains quietly.

"Why?" I whisper.

"Summer. You are Divergent." She said simply, almost like an order.

"What does that mean?" I demand. "Like you said. You are different. That doesn't mean you are bad. Actually most people who are Divergent are good.." It was like she couldn't figure out how to explain.

"Okay… but that still doesn't explain why I can't tell Logan." I look at her searching for an explanation. She looks down at her hands, clenching and unclenching them constantly. _Is she nervous?_ I wonder, trying to remember if I've seen her do this before.

"Even though Logan hasn't been through the Aptitude Test, I can just tell… He can't know." She tries to explain.

"You don't think he's Divergent?" I figure out.

Her eyes are closed tightly as she thinks. I've seen her do that before. She nods slowly her eyes still shut. There's a knock at our door and the innocent voice of a 15 year old.

"Hey mom? What's for breakfast? And why is your door locked? Where's Summer?" Mom put her finger to her lips, signaling for me to be quiet. She stood up and opened the door a crack, sticking her head out the door.

"Summer went for a walk to think, I'll make breakfast in a second, and you get ready." _Why would she lie? Is she trying to protect me? He's my brother… what could he possibly do?_ She stood there for a bit longer, probably watching him enter his room. She turned sharply to me and opened the door. I walked past her and down the hall tiptoeing past Logan's room. _How can she lie so easily? Maybe it is dangerous to tell him._ I took a shower and then got dressed. Afterwards I sat on the edge of my bed thinking. _I can't tell Logan...that's fine. The least amount of people that know is better anyway._ I stared at the black rimmed glasses sitting on my night table. _I never liked wearing them, I always got in trouble during school for having them on top of my head instead of in front of my eyes. Not anymore, I know what I'm going to do._

I heard a soft knock at my door.

"Hey Summer… breakfast is ready." Logan said. I stuffed the glasses in my pocket, just in case. I walked through the doors and downstairs into the kitchen. I smelled the sausages before I even saw them. I sat down on the blue and white stool next to my brother. Pancakes and sausages again, like every morning. Logan glanced at me, not wanting to make eye contact for some reason. Not seeing any real reason to protest on Choosing Day I stuffed down the pancakes and sausages. Logan was making his sausages swim in syrup, not eating.

"Okay… what's wrong?" I finally asked, my curiosity at the boiling point. Logan dropped his fork on his plate, stood up and put his dishes in the sink. Mom stood there, her arms crossed over her chest once more, her signature look.

"What's up with him?" I asked her, slightly annoyed.

"He's worried about you, but doesn't know how to show it." I looked over at the seat next to me where he was minutes ago. I sighed and grabbed my plate.

"Thank you for breakfast, it was delicious." I said blandly, trying to put feeling into it, but it wasn't going anywhere. I put my dishes in the sink and then followed Logan up the stairs. I knocked on his door and it opened silently. Logan laid on his bed bouncing his orange ball against the wall behind him and catching it at an exact point in front of him. He does this all the time when he's thinking.

"What's up?" He asked casually like nothing happened just a couple minutes ago.

"What do you mean?! What's up?! You tell me! What happened back there?" He caught the ball once more and then sat up suddenly.

"I can tell already that you are going to leave, the thing is, what faction would want _you…_?" _He's always been a sassy mouth but seriously, you can't show some support on my choosing day?_ I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"I haven't decided, actually. What do you think?" I could tell his jaw clenched and a smug smile played over his face.

He looked down at the ball in his hand and said, "Maybe you should join the enemy lines, since you already are…" I glared at him, we always do this, dis each other before serious events. Like moms birthday, or anyone else's choosing day, but I could tell this was a little more personal.

"What do you mean enemy lines?" I asked harshly.

"Abnegation, of course! Since you don't want to be here! Actually! Never mind, all you care about is yourself!" I didn't even realize it, but we were mere inches away from each other. I took a step back, seeing something is Logan's eyes that I thought I would never see, _hatred..._


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter was done by Chestnutboredom or Sabrina.**

My dreams feel mixed. So many thoughts. I keep starting my dreams over, rewinding them. Restarting. They never end up good though. I am not even sure what faction I'm going in to. If I will stay or leave Dauntless. I love it, but I am not sure if I am tough enough for it. Thinking that my whole life is being decided tomorrow is just plain scary. My parents don't know, but I'm divergent. I will never belong. The tester at the time told me to keep it a secret, that there are people out there trying to kill people like me. I have to choose wisely, but I am not smart like an Erudite. Dauntless, Amity, and Candor to be exact are my personality, I am divergent. I can only choose one. I can't choose between Amity and Candor. Do I want to be honest for the rest of my life? Or live peacefully and ignore any problems I've had, not to mention the art part. I need to sleep...SHUT UP BRAIN, I NEED TO SLEEP! MAKING ME THINK IS NOT COOL! I AM NO ERUDITE! I feel my brain is screaming at me. What don't I want to be…? Hmmm…..I'm thinking Candor is the place for me, but I'm not sure. Do I really want to be honest all the time? Never lying? Does that mean my secret about being Divergent would no longer be a secret?! WOULD I BE SAFE?! I can feel my body start shaking.

Will I ever be safe…?

Suddenly my brain is silent. I need to be safe. Dauntless, is dangerous, but I will learn how to defend myself...Candor, my secret might be out, but Candor is close. Would they protect me and keep my secret? Amity, a place of peace, but would I be able to keep my anger and problems under control? WHY IS THIS SO HARD?! That's it. I am going to sleep and I will decide in the morning. I turn on my side and close my eyes. I see pitch black and a turning tunnel. I shift to my other side, and finally drift off to sleep.

_I see the ceremony and all the factions. Erudite in blue, Dauntless in black, Amity in red and yellow, Abnegation in gray, and lastly Candor in black and white. I am shaking in my seat._

"_Zoey Daine," the announcer says through the microphone._

_I get up from my seat, my legs are shaking. I pick up the knife and slash my hand, I watch as my blood drips into the Candor glass._

I suddenly jerk awake. My answer. Candor. That was my choice. My dreams knew better than my own conscious thinking. Thank god my dream figured it out for me because otherwise I wouldn't be able to choose. I laugh to myself as I pick out my dauntless clothing. I put it on and look in the mirror. I look at myself head to toe, this would probably be the last time I would wear this type of clothing. I hear a knock at the door.

"Come in," I say.

The door opens and my mom is standing there.

"Are you ready?" she asks.

"Yes," I answer still staring at the mirror.

I leave my room and find my way out of my house, I walk down to the eating area in the dauntless area, find some food. I sit down and eat it in 4 or 5 seconds. Once done with breakfast I follow the rest of the dauntless kids to the train. I watch as all of the dauntless kids jump on the train. When my turn comes I jump easily on to the train. As the breeze hits my face, I can see small glimpses of the city. I jump in the train cart, and the musty smell fills my nose. I take a seat on the cold hard floor of the train cart. I can feel my legs shaking. Someone is looking out the doorway and starts waving us forward to get ready to jump. Everyone starts jumping, my turn comes and I easily jump to the ground in a roll.

Once on the ground I see the other factions. Abnegation in grey, Candor in black and white, Erudite in blue, Amity in red and yellow. I follow the other kids, because I'm not sure where to go. We enter The Hub, and I take a seat with my faction in the circular auditorium, I see my parents sitting in the inner circle to observe. The Choosing Ceremony was to begin. The final circle had 5 metal bowls containing substances that are a representation of each faction. I watch as the Erudite start and the Amity go. Then Dauntless is next. They go through 3 or 4 names until they meet mine.

"Zoey Daine," the announcer says through the microphone. Her voice is crisp and my name comes out.

I come up to the bowls, I can feel my hands shaking as I pick up the knife.

"_God, I am a coward."_

I turn to the bowls, looking at every one of them. I look up and see that my mom has a smile on her face, but she doesn't know my choice yet. I find the Candor glass with my eyes and move toward it. I slit my hand and watch as the blood hits the glass. The blood reflects around the whole bowl like reflecting mirrors. The announcer turns to the audience for they have not seen my choice.

"Candor," The announcer says through the mic, crisper than before.

I watch as my mom's smile fades from her face. I give a small smile and turn toward Candor. I walk steadily across the stage, and find a seat. As the dauntless finish I watch as my friends separate. The ceremony finishes as Candor and Abnegation go. I follow as the Candor stand to leave. Who knows what lies ahead for me.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter was done by Nina Gerrard or Polina**

I have kept myself busy for many days, straying off of the topic of me choosing the rest of my life and my relationships with my friends and family. No one would really judge if I chose to make my own individual decision and go to another faction in Amity, at least out loud. I am not all too forward to stay in Amity, but who am I to make a decision this big so young? This isn't choosing just a whole new experience, it's changing and adapting into a whole new lifestyle. Weighing all of the choices in, do I really love the idea in staying here in Amity and continuing my life with a bunch of peacemakers? Don't get me wrong, I love peace and quiet, I love everything in balance, but maybe on choosing day I will tip the scale so much that I can never weigh it down properly again. This disturbs me and goes against my outweighing decision of joining another faction. I of course realize that the problems I am facing are not rare, and I know that they may not be so significant, but I feel as though I have made my choice but am too frightened to go through with it. What would my life be like in Dauntless? The strong and the brave? I am not impulsive, I could never last long there without screwing something up. And as much as the choice of Abnegation intrigues me, the selfless where character and attitude are stronger than appearance, it seems to me quite dull. Erudite? Intriguing, but can I really fill in with such a technology based and knowledgeable group of people? And Candor, the honest. Now there's an interesting faction. Where no one tells a lie and the world feels open and as seen as a range of easily obtainable information. The problem is, I have gotten quite good at lying and don't want to deceive such people for fear of being caught and ruining the rest of my choice. Once you lie there, I would think, you can't really go back.

I roll over in my bed and grimace as the bed creaks. You would think that an Amity girl such as myself wouldn't get so easily annoyed, but that's obviously not true. I do get annoyed, many times, but I don't really show it. I can't, or otherwise I get a bit of a scolding for how many times I wanted to 'accidently' cause small physical harm to different people.

"Marina!" I heard my sister whisper from across the room. "Are you not sleeping too?"

Most families in Amity tend to have a large number of kids, at least, more than two. After I came into the world, my mom couldn't give birth anymore due to some hormonal failure or disease that hit some of us in Amity. Lauren, obviously my older sister, would have gone to Erudite. At least I would think, if my mom wasn't so sick and if I was more capable of taking care of her. Lauren is much more Amity than me, she cares for people more than I have ever cared, family or not. I do care about a wide range of people, but I still feel individual, not exactly part of the whole but not exactly out of it. I'm kind of like a puzzle piece, you look at me and think I will fit, but I might just belong somewhere else. I would think that everyone had this kind of thought at least once in their life, especially with such a thing as Choosing Day.

"Yeah," I answer her, turning over and looking at her.

"How are you feeling?" She asks, concerned. She always had her eyebrows furrowed at something.

"I'm good," I say, my voice kind of raspy.

"You can talk to me you know," Lauren says. I can just imagine her eyebrow going up as she speaks.

"_I'm good, alright?_" I say, irritated, turning back over.

"Fine," She sighs, and I hear her bed creak too as she turns over. "Whatever decision you make, just remember, I won't hold it against you. I know how hard it is, I won't judge you."

"Lauren."  
"Yeah?"

"What would you have picked, if mom was fine?" I ask, my voice shaky.

"I…" She hesitates. "I would stay here. All of you mean more to me than anything else the other factions will ever be able to provide for me. But that's just my choice, and my values. They will differ to yours."

"If you had to choose a faction besides Amity, which one would you have selected? I know this is stupid to ask but...I want to know."

"Other than Amity…" Her voice trailed off, I could tell she was lost in thought. The silence and the dark carried on. I heard a car and an owl or two from outside. "Erudite. All of the medical practices that I could learn…I would have loved to go back and forth. If I could," She clears her throat. "It's late, try to sleep."

"Okay," I say quietly, pulling my covers tightly around me. "Good night."

"Good night. Blissful sleep to you."

"To you as well."

I touch my lips with my fingers and extend it towards her, and I know she does the same.

* * *

I woke up with a dead yet sort of happy feeling. I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling, knowing that this might be one of my last times in the room. Or maybe, I will just be the coward I mostly am and stay here, forever stuck in this silly faction. I found relief when I heard Lauren, still sleeping and sighing heavily. The aptitude test. Then Choosing Day. This is it. The day I can dramatize to the maximum and won't get too many weird looks.

I get up right away and dress in the Amity standard clothing - some red shirt with a long yellow bead necklace and jeans - before heading towards the kitchen. The smell of my house was intoxicating. There was a wonderful smell of candles, all kinds, along with the smoke that it produced in the end. I always found candles so beautiful. It was a nice bead of light in the darkness. I prepare some eggs and whatever else I can find in the house. The smoky scent stays no matter how strong the smell of food is.

"Well good morning to ya," Lauren walks into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes sleepily and making her voice sound melodious. I was always jealous of her voice, the way it sounds so soft and almost thunderous at the same time.

"Good morning," I laugh and give her a hug in greeting. "Seems like you slept well." I continue cooking as she shrugs on the robe and begins setting up the table for breakfast. How calm everything seemed.

"I think so. And how did you sleep?" I hear the glasses clink behind me as I rinse off the pan from grease.

"I slept well," I say cheerily, smiling over at her before continuing on to get the rest of the food done.

"Really?" She asked a bit doubtfully, and I grimace.

As much as wanted to talk about what was I was feeling, it seemed rather hopeless. And besides, it wouldn't be wise of me to show my problems, we have to maintain peace.

"Yes," I say. I wince a little at first, but I keep repeating that word in my head and after a while...I believe it.

Lauren doesn't say anything but just leaves the room, probably going to wake up mom. I finish and cover up the food so it won't get cold right away. Taking a broom, I go out and enjoy the morning. The sky is beautiful, and as I sweep the porch, I imagine what the sky looks like from the other factions. I shake away the idea immediately. Now that I think of it, how can I indulge in such ideas? Leaving will break my mom, making her think that I didn't want her in my life. I didn't want to upset her. Or Lauren. Even though it was the Amity way to forgive, I felt as if it wouldn't be so easy in this case. The thought of hurting them made my stomach turn and I suddenly wasn't that hungry anymore. How am I always feeling so guilty?

After my mom woke up we ate the food busily, we talked about all sorts of things, as if Choosing Day wasn't happening for another few months. I wish.

I leave soon enough, hugging and then waving to my mother and Lauren as I go towards my testing, my heart sinking lower and lower but the feeling masked with only a smile.

* * *

My name is called and I enter one of the rooms with my fingers drumming against my thighs. The room feels bright and there are mirrors all around, but my heart stops when I see the seat in front of me.

"Hello, if you wouldn't mind, sit down right over here," A woman says, entering the room and pointing to the seat. She wears a blue dress, conservative and featuring a complicated stitching and design. I wonder if she made it herself. "I'm Anne."

I sit down, feeling a little wary.

"Amity I see." She says with a small smile at me.

"Yes, and you're erudite. That's a beautiful dress. The stitching must have taken hours." I say confidently, noticing hand crafted work when I see it.

"Oh yes, it did. Amity made. You are familiar with this stitching?"

"Of course. Do you wear a lot of these?" I have obviously gotten off track. But when I am nervous I talk a lot, to the point where I become genuinely interested in almost anything.

"Maybe," She says, going back on track again. "Sit still."

She takes a needle and comes close, I grimace at the sight of it and try to relax. I calm down quite easily and exhale deeply.

"It doesn't hurt," She says calmly, injecting the needle by my neck. I sigh and feel a bit lightheaded. I close my eyes, waiting. I wasn't allowed to be prepared for these tests, so all I could ever do was just think of the possibilities. Now that the moment is here, I wish that I prepared more, even though I didn't know how.

I open my eyes and see that I am in a wide room, a tall ceiling of twice my height, a gorgeous old chandelier that I have seen in my history books, and a shady light coming from floor to wall windows, which are all partly draped with curtains. I adjust my eyes to the little bit of darkness and see a figure that stands in front of a window, holding what I see as a knife in their hands. I couldn't see their face because of the shadows that the window provided it with, so I could barely even make out if there was a male or a female in front of me. I sighed. Just a simulation, I'm safe. There is a gun that I notice, laying down right by my foot. I keep watching the figure and wonder if I should pick the weapon up.

"Choose." A woman's voice urges me. I shake my head to myself, I wasn't raised to promote violence.

"Choose," The woman says, her voice sounding brutally cold. I shiver and hesitantly take the gun, still watching the figure.

The figure reaches up and I see that instead of a knife, the figure now has a long gun. That means a long distance target.

Something touches my hand and I flinch, looking down and seeing a little girl sucking on one of her hands while holding onto mine with the other. I look up and see that the figure is getting ready to shoot, I look around, not knowing what to do. I then remember the chandelier. From there the scene feels to go in slow motion as my eyes trail until they find the rope that is wrapped around a block that sticks out of the wall, connecting it to the ceiling. I point the gun, knowing that I won't have enough time to untangle the rope, and shoot at the block. I miss the first time but get it the next, it was just lucky for me in general to have the block so close to me. The chandelier dropped down and from the distraction I picked up the girl to run away but she seemed to vaporize in my arms. I heard a gunshot and looked back, seeing the crumpled figure on the ground, blood oozing from his head. I also see the chandelier, broken in millions of pieces, partly on top of him. I hoped for a distraction, but gained violence. A jolt of guilt struck me as I figured out what I have done, but all I could do was tell myself that it was only a simulation.

I feel dizzy as my surroundings change, stumbling backwards to finally find that I am in a grassy field. There are flowers all around the edge and it seems calm. I see a family having a picnic, their expressions happy. The ground starts to crackle suddenly, splitting into two and making its way to the family. I run to them and start yelling.

"Run! Get out of there!" I choke out warily, running as fast as I can. The family looks up and the males get away, but the mother and daughter are left, sitting and too preoccupied. I run to them and pull at the mother and tell her to go, but she doesn't budge. She continues braiding her daughter's hair while humming. I look back and the widening crack will be here in seconds, so all I can do is grab the daughter and run, hoping the mother will follow. I run into the woods until I find the males, finally turning around and seeing the mother take her daughter from my arms.

I stand in a line, full of girls with faces that I would easily forget. A man starts coming up to us, one by one, speaking in a gruff voice. He is tall and looks troubling.

"Do you know him?" He comes up to me and points at the picture, his eyes showing no concern for the way I'm struggling to not shake.

I look at the picture, the face familiar. I felt uneasy looking at the man in there.

"Why?"

"It was you wasn't it," He spits on my face angrily, throwing the picture out of his hands. "You put him in jail."

"No," I say, looking at him. I felt as if there was a truth to what he said, but the man seemed dangerous. I was willing to lie for it to not break out in a fight.

"You pathetic liar," He rages, grabbing my shoulders.

"I don't know him!" I say louder, but then I open my eyes. I'm back in the room. Anne stares at me, her lips pressed together.

"That was…" I was trying to find something to say, but my mind went blank. I couldn't describe what just happened. And if it was good or bad.

"I will be back. Sit." She says, her voice colder and commanding. I became anxious, something was obviously wrong. Did I not pass? Will I be factionless? She leaves the room without another word.

I sit in the room, thinking to myself. I look at the mirror too, which was clean and polished. I look at myself and my lips twitch in distaste. My long brown hair was static and my face was pale, almost a deathly pale. My eyes looked clear though, blue from this distance even though I knew that they were actually grey. I lean back in my seat and wait.

"Your test was...different," Anne says as she gets back into the room. "Your results are a frustrating."

"How?" My voice cracks.

"Well every test either promotes a faction or eliminates a faction. When you shot at the chandelier it promoted Erudite, but at the same time Dauntless because of the final result. Erudite and Dauntless were also again promoted for when you got both of the people away by taking the child first. But I have a theory. There can't be Dauntless without a little bit of Erudite and there can't be Erudite without a little Dauntless. I think. In the final one, with the questioning man, eliminated candor."

I stare at her, not know what to say. This didn't make any sense.

"The interesting thing is, I tried to get a test to eliminate either Erudite or Dauntless...and the program closed off. I believe from the response that you had to the man, the strong emotion."

"What does it mean?" I ask nervously.

"Well, you're...hm. Don't breathe a word of this when you walk out of this room."

"We are not allowed to discuss our tests." I say, repeating what people told me before I came in.

"This especially, Marina. No one. It's not safe."

"I...alright. Okay." I say.

She leans in and cups her hands around her mouth, whispering in my ear.

"You are," She hesitates for a moment. "Divergent. Your tests were inconclusive. As far as I know, you have Amity, Erudite, and Dauntless."

"I don't understand," I say. "How…?"

"We can't talk about this. You can't talk about this. With anyone. It's dangerous. Do you understand?"

I nod slowly, my heart beating fast. The word 'dangerous' replays in my head.

"If it's dangerous then why are you helping?" I ask, confused.

"Hm," She says thoughtfully. "At least we know that you are not abnegation."

I blink, taking a few seconds to realize the joke as I am ushered out the door. I'm too curious for Abnegation at least that makes sense. I just can't put my finger on it...how could I possibly be in three factions at once? I will still have to pick one. I rub my eyes tiredly, thinking to myself how hopeless I am. What is wrong with me? This test hasn't helped me in the slightest.


End file.
